THE OOLOGIST 



hawk. Then his rapid flight would 

 enable him to easily ascertain the 

 strength and position of the enemy. 



With the Pawnee Indians the hawk 

 was an emblem of war and messenger 

 of the Morning Star. Aspiring war- 

 riors frequently take their names from 

 the sparrow hawk. No higher class 

 name could a chieftain-to-be bear than 

 Koot-towy-koots, generally carrying 

 with it added descriptive terms, as 

 Koot-towy-koots-oo-se-te-tairt (Hawk 

 the Gods see), a title once borne by a 

 prominent Pa'wnee chieftain. 



The owl does not hold as high a 

 position as the eagle and hawk; and 

 by the Winnebagoes is not especially 

 noted for his wisdom, but is frequent- 

 ly spoken of as an old man. A Winne- 

 bago owl story is as follows: "A 

 hunter was compelled to stop over 

 night at a place in the woods remote 

 from his home. In the evening he 

 roasted a beaver which he had killed 

 during the previous day. When it was 

 done he cut sticks and laid them down 

 on which to place the meat Just as 

 he was about to partake of his meal, 

 an owl hooted in the woods. In a jest- 

 ing manner the hunter called out: 

 'Grandpa, come in and eat with me.' 

 Shortly a white haired old man ap- 

 peared and sat by the fire. The hunt- 

 er did not heed him, neither did he in- 

 vite him to eat, nor did he greet him 

 in the manner in which a stranger 

 should be greeted. Seeing the hunter 

 finish his meal, the hoary old man 

 arose and sa'id: 'Well, boy, I came 

 here at your invitation, and you have 

 offended me; so when you return to 

 your home, you will grind some to- 

 bacco in your hand to smoke, and in 

 that act, a tobacco stick will pierce 

 your palm and you will die from it.' 

 Saying this, he went his way. The 

 hunter was aroused and followed the 

 man, who flew into the darkness. Up- 

 on reaching his home the owl's pre- 

 diction was fulfilled. The wise men 



were called but could not help him 

 and he died." 



The Winnebagoes believe that the 

 hooting of a screech owl near a lodge 

 is a sure sign that one of the occu- 

 pants of the lodge will die soon. 



To the Pawnee Indians the owls 

 symbolize the four powers of the west 

 who never sleep. They are the four as- 

 sistants of the evening star. They are 

 the wind, cloud, lightning and thunder. 

 It has a high office to perform with the 

 high priests or holy men of the Medi- 

 cine Dance. It is worn in full pre- 

 served form upon the breast with beak 

 downward, and tips of wings extend- 

 ing backwards over the shoulders. 



The Apache Indians are very super- 

 stitious regarding the owl My infor- 

 mant says: "If you wish to make the 

 cold chills creep over an Apache In- 

 dian's back, secrete yourself within 

 hearing distance and hoot like an owl." 

 For generations the Apaches have de- 

 posited the remains of their departed 

 in caves, which are usually situated in 

 elevated and almost inaccessible lo- 

 calities, in the mountains or foot-hills. 

 These caves are inhabited by a small 

 species of owl whose screech is ter- 

 rific and heartrending. The Apaches 

 believe that the souls of their depart- 

 ed have been reincarnated in these 

 small owls; hence their superstition 

 and belief that they are listening to 

 the voices of their dead. 



The Dakota Indians would seem to 

 impute a superior wisdom to the owl. 

 The following songs of the bubo or 

 horned owl illustrate this statement: 



"In sunny noon the people sin. 

 At midnight they repent." 



"Whoever has no pain is cursed: 



Its hunger makes men kind and thirst." 



Other songs of the owl are as fol- 

 lows: 



"When flowers are sleeping 

 And noon is dreaming. 

 The night is beaming 



